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Wenger claims he now ignores Arsenal legend after criticism

Thierry Henry has recently retired and turned to punditry, and has had more than a little to say on the current state of Arsenal. Arsene Wenger insists that he holds no ill will for the Frenchman, despite some negative comments made by his compatriot since he joined the Sky Sports team, as reported by Goal.

Although he speaks with the utmost respect for Wenger, Henry suggested that his former manager was to blame for Alexis Sanchez’s recent hamstring injury against Norwich. Wenger failed to rest the Chilean despite repeated warnings that he was in the red zone, and he is now consequently facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Wenger stressed that he understood Henry was merely doing his job, but went on to state that he no longer listens to his former player’s words.

“Not at all! That is the job of a pundit. He needs to say something,” Wenger responded, when asked whether Henry’s comments angered him.

“Personally, I do not listen to what he says.”

Just because Henry is an Arsenal legend, it doesn’t mean he is forbidden from ever criticising the club. Every Arsenal fan is entitled to their opinion on the club, and Henry has always been respectful when it comes to the Gunners.

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The 38-year-old has recently been doing some coaching with the Arsenal youth teams, and has even been backed to eventually take over from Arsene Wenger as Arsenal manager (via The Evening Standard).

It’s questionable whether Henry is even close to being ready, as he has very limited management experience. Arsene Wenger is likely to step aside in the next year or two, and we need to think carefully about who we get to replace him. We’ve seen the negative consequences of appointing club legends as managers, and we wouldn’t want to tarnish Henry’s name.

Hopefully he keeps up his good relationship with Wenger, and continues to learn from the 66-year-old. It would be great to see Henry eventually take the mantle at Arsenal, but we don’t want to rush him into a role he’s not ready for either.